Time is the most precious resource we all have at our disposal and we receive this daily for 24 hours. Have you ever wondered how it's already late during the day or how time flies that it's like yesterday we spent New Year's Eve with family and friends and it's as if in a moment we're already in the middle of the summer?
It is said that there are no secrets that time does not reveal. That is why it is very important to be aware and to act in the direction of good time management. There is no time to lose, to be lazy, to procrastinate in vain because what you can do today must not be left for tomorrow.
If you run out of money then you have no money, but if you run out of time then you have lost a part of your life. Given these aspects, I thought I would approach time management for you and how we can better organize ourselves so that we become more productive, more efficient, and ultimately succeed in making the best use of this primary resource for all of us.
I will also offer you some simple and effective methods for managing time that, and whether you apply them in your personal life or apply them in your professional life, they will help you become better and better at this.
First of all, I would like to draw your attention to how important it is to be aware of the passage of time and I thought of an example. If you've ever been to a casino, have you noticed that there are no wall clocks, either classic or digital? Have you ever wondered why? Because they don't want you to know how time passes so you can stay there as long as possible and obviously spend as much as possible, usually until your pocket is empty.
I'm not a casino player, but I understood one thing, very important: you have to be very aware of the passage of time. It is the golden rule in time management. It is to your advantage to know how time passes, so take action and put a clock in every room you sit in, at the office, bigger or smaller, digital or not, it doesn't matter, but you have to somehow always have in front of the eyes an instrument for measuring time.
Time is not waiting for anyone and time is never late.
Obviously, there are many methods for time management, but precisely because there are many and because I want you to really get added value in your life, I have chosen 5 simple and very effective methods that I use and recommend to save time.
1. Time Spent at Meetings
Whether we are talking about business meetings or meetings with friends, it is necessary to minimize the time allotted. Some meetings end exactly as they began, this is the cruel truth. And what did you gain then?
Corporations usually have a very unproductive habit, which is to have a lot of meetings and very often. People have become somewhat accustomed because it is a place where they find their escape as if hiding from something. In fact, the only thing that is certain is that the time spent in such meetings can no longer be recovered.
If you are caught in such a place, try not to attend such meetings, if you can obviously, and if you are dealing with people who are always in meetings, avoid them. You're wasting both time and energy.
I'm also talking about meetings that don't take place at the office but at the restaurant or a cafe. These are time-consuming because most of the time, even if you are punctual, the other person will be late. If the meeting took place at the office, you could take care of something until the other person arrived. Here is a firm recommendation: if you go on a date with such a person, take some work with you. It may take some time for the other person to reach your meeting.
2. Use the List
What list? The list of things to do. It is valid every day. You just can't remember everything you have to do all the time, so you need to make lists and, of course, use them. It is a simple and very effective tool. You can use a normal planner, a digital one, or digital memos on your smartphone.
What will you note there? Absolutely everything you have to do. The people you need to call, the people you need to meet, the places you need to go, time for dinner, family, reading, writing, friends, meditation, or whatever else you do in a day. It would be good to categorize the things you have to do because this way you can prioritize them better and thus your program will be a cursive one, and the time will be useful.
Another great advantage of using lists is that it frees your mind, and your mind is clearer and clearer and you can use it at a high level of concentration for what you have to do. It may be awkward at first, but it doesn't take you more than 10 minutes to make a list and you will see that once you get used to it you will consider this habit really liberating.
3. Block Your Time
Here I mean actually taking your time in an organized way. A very simple and very common example, but as simple and common as it is to schedule a vacation. You put in your calendar that between August 3, 2015 and August 20, 2015 you are on vacation with your family, gone to visit Spain, Italy and France. You already buy your plane tickets and you can already start listing what you need.
You will say that I urge you to plan your life. Well, partly yes, but that's because it's your life and because I care about you and I want you to live it as well as possible. The advantages of scheduling are multiple because you know the period clearly, you get plane tickets in time, you go shopping in time, you leave almost nothing on the last hundred meters. Thus everything is more efficient, organized, optimized, and in the end, it will result in increased efficiency in terms of the total cost.
Here we are practically talking about habits.
By blocking time for activities that are important to you and that create added value for you, you prevent a very important aspect: for an activity that is top for you to be accomplished, without your time being used for the priorities of others.
4. Take Advantage of The Waiting Time
Most of us who walk through the urban jungle are caught in traffic or public transportation. The advancement of technology has allowed us in recent years to be a few clicks away or a few taps on the touchscreens of mobile phones from many things that we need.
If you are still driving and the traffic is heavy, it would be advisable to listen to audio material that interests you. Insert a cd, DVD, or memory stick. Spending time listening to commercial radio is not valuable to you.
If you are in the middle of public transport, then it is very easy to put your headphones on and start an audio material of interest to you, whether we are talking about motivational materials or a seminar on medical topics, for example, if you are a doctor.
Have you ever thought about this wasted time otherwise? Maybe 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there, today, tomorrow, and so on. If you draw the line, you may lose important time in this way. You just have to be more careful and aware so that you can take advantage of waiting times.
5. Punctuality
I'm always on time when I go to meetings and I always get there a little earlier.
The fact that I set my schedule and do not deviate from it allows me to carry out all the activities I have to do that day. Even when I meet a friend for coffee for relaxation and socializing and establish that we see each other in a certain place at 19.00, I am there because first of all I respect myself and my time, as I also respect my friend's time.
I don't know if it would make sense to continue what punctuality means and why we should practice it at the highest level every day. But just think about what it would be like to call an ambulance to announce a heart attack, and have people there say they arrive in 3 minutes and actually arrive in seven minutes? Any delay can be fatal! The same goes for business or personal life, even if you don't realize it now.
As a time management tool, and one that is in your absolute control, is discipline. You have to be disciplined and if you make a list of things you have to do for tomorrow then you deal with it until you're done. Then you can do other activities. You said that from tomorrow you will start the diet, then you will have to discipline yourself and do exactly that because procrastination is the thief of time.
I wrote this article for you so that you can use your time effectively, awaken the consciousness in you, and realize that only with self-discipline you can implement healthy habits in your life and thus get to manage time getting better.
With care,
@regenerette
💙💚❤️💗💜💖 For @galenkp to whom I have promised to write about this and to all those who managed to read it until the end: Thank you!
